Bati stars in tonight’s Eels, Panthers clash
Former Vodafone Fijian Bati head coach Joe Rabele believes that tonight’s National Rugby League (NRL) clash between Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels will centre around the Bati players.
“I believe the Eels will put in place a strategy to stop Panthers forwards of Viliame Kikau and Apisai Koroisau,” said Rabele who guided the Bati to the 2008 Rugby League World Cup semi-final.
“Similarly, with the Panthers who are going to do all they can to halt the combination of Eels centre Waqa Blake and winger Maika Sivo.
“Two weeks ago Sivo and Blake scored a try each. Last weekend, despite being a marked man Sivo showed a lot of class in setting up two tries.”
Rabele indicated that Koroisau masterminds Panthers move from his hooker’s position and would be closely marked by his Bati teammates Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Kane Evans of the Eels.
Bati players who are going to play this weekend are King Vuniyayawa for the Warriors, Daniel Safaiti for the Knights, Suliasi Vunivalu starts for Storm along with Mikaele Ravalawa for Dragons and Brandon Wakeham has been moved to the reserves for Bulldogs. Rabele said the rise of homegrown stars like Kikau, Sivo, Vunivalu and Tui Kamikamica in the NRL is a big challenge to many of our young players.
“The onus is on us the development officers at the Fiji National Rugby League to go out and identify talented players. We’ll nurture and groom them to become better players,” he said.
He indicated that rookies Ilikena Vudogo and Semi Valemei are yet to play for their respective NRL clubs.
“We need all the support that we can get in terms of development and setting up of a High Performance Unit to develop our young talents,” he said.
“This is an opportunity for our players to make it in life.”
The Eels versus Panther game gets underway at 9.55pm at the
Central Coast Stadium in New
South Wales.
All NRL matches are shown live on Sky Pacific. FIXTURES (FIJIAN TIME) Tonight- 8pm Warriors v Cowboys, 9.55pm Eels v Panthers; Saturday- 7.30pm Knights v Storm, 9.35pm Tigers v Raiders; Sunday- 6pm Bulldogs v Roosters, 8.30pm Dragons v Sharks.